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4.61 AVERAGE
4.61 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
This is a book meant to be re-read time and time again to absorb what might have been missed previously. It is so rich with perspective.
Some of my favorite quotes include:
"If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him." - Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. 1963
Some of my favorite quotes include:
"If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him." - Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. 1963
“One can give nothing whatever without giving oneself - that is to say, risking oneself. If one cannot risk oneself, then one is simply incapable of giving”
“A civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless”
“I am proud of these people not because of their color but because of their intelligence and their spiritual force and their beauty. The country should be proud of them, too, but, alas, not many people in this country even know of their existence. And the reason for this ignorance is that a knowledge of the role these people played—and play—in American life would reveal more about America to Americans than Americans wish to know.“
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”
There are so many quotes in this book that are inspirational, defiant and so perfectly written, that I think I need to read it a few more times to really absorb them.
This is my first Baldwin and I’m completely in awe of how he sees the world around him and the issues that African Americans face. The scariest thing about it is how much of it still rings true today.
It’s a snapshot of the not so distant past, and really puts a lot of social issues of today in context.
My only issue, is that it’s so short - I wanted much more. I guess I’ll definitely be moving in to his novels!
There are so many quotes in this book that are inspirational, defiant and so perfectly written, that I think I need to read it a few more times to really absorb them.
This is my first Baldwin and I’m completely in awe of how he sees the world around him and the issues that African Americans face. The scariest thing about it is how much of it still rings true today.
It’s a snapshot of the not so distant past, and really puts a lot of social issues of today in context.
My only issue, is that it’s so short - I wanted much more. I guess I’ll definitely be moving in to his novels!
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
Profoundly impactful, compassionate, thoughtful and clear. I had to reread so many passages to reflect on their significance. Truly remarkable work.
“Thus, in the realm of morals, the role of Christianity has been, at best, ambivalent. Even leaving out of account the remarkable arrogance that assumed that the ways and morals of others were inferior to those of Christians, and that they therefore had every right, and could use any means, to change them, the collision between cultures- and the schizophrenia in the mind of Christendom- had rendered the domain of morals as chartless as the sea once was, and as treacherous as the sea still is. It is not too much to say that whoever wishes to become a truly moral human being (and let us not ask whether or not this is possible; we must believe that it is possible) must first divorce himself from all prohibitions, crimes, and hypocrisies of the Christian church. If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.”
“Thus, in the realm of morals, the role of Christianity has been, at best, ambivalent. Even leaving out of account the remarkable arrogance that assumed that the ways and morals of others were inferior to those of Christians, and that they therefore had every right, and could use any means, to change them, the collision between cultures- and the schizophrenia in the mind of Christendom- had rendered the domain of morals as chartless as the sea once was, and as treacherous as the sea still is. It is not too much to say that whoever wishes to become a truly moral human being (and let us not ask whether or not this is possible; we must believe that it is possible) must first divorce himself from all prohibitions, crimes, and hypocrisies of the Christian church. If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.”
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Sharp, radically honest, compassionate and poetic.
This made me want to read it again as soon as I finished it, to soak up as much of what was said as I can in case I missed something. There was so much to wring from each sentence in this little book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
fast-paced